Protective covering for landscape ties and timbers and other building materials

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for preventing splinters and minimizing the number of injuries attributable to falling onto pressure-treated wooden members, such as landscape ties or timbers used in play areas and landscape projects, through the use of a resilient cover. A cover and various embodiments include a moldable or extrudable waterproof material in the form of a channel having a top wall and two opposing side walls. The combination of channel thickness and composition provides an impact resistance suitable to prevent injuries when one falls upon it. The inner dimensions of the channel are such that the channel fits tightly over the top and sides of a construction beam or timber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/609,905, filed Jun. 30, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,147,907 entitled“PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR LANDSCAPE TIES AND TIMBERS AND OTHER BUILDINGMATERIALS,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to protective covers, and morespecifically to shaped resilient covers and methods of covering orretrofitting pressure-treated wooden construction materials, such aslandscape ties and timbers used in play areas and in landscapingprojects, with said covers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pressure-treated wood beams are used frequently in defining boundariesof landscape projects and play areas, such as swing sets, sandboxes andbocce courts. Pressure-treated woods are used because of their durablenature, and are commonly treated with chemical preservatives.

Safety checklists for public and private playgrounds have been issued bythe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”,www.cpsc.gov/kids/kidsafety/plgdlist.pdf) and KaBOOM!™, a non-profitorganization based in Washington, D.C. (www.kaboom.org.) Both recommendthat all playground surfaces have at least 9-12 inches of wood chipmulch, sand or pea gravel, or be comprised of mats made of safety testedrubber or rubber like materials, and that no sharp points or edges bepresent. Landscape ties and timbers are susceptible to cracking and/orsplintering.

In 1999 alone, it is estimated that there were more than 200,000playground-equipment injuries. Most of these injuries occurred whenchildren fell onto a surface that did not adequately protect against thefall. Through organizations such as the CPSC, the American Society ofTesting Materials, and the Independent Play Equipment ManufacturersAssociation, the federal government and playground equipment industryhave issued voluntary safety guidelines. There remains, however, nofederally mandated standards. Several states, such as California, aremoving toward mandated standards to ensure millions of young childrenwill play and learn in safer environments.

It is, therefore, desirable to provide a means for covering new woodenstructures and retrofitting existing ones with a protective material toprevent or minimize injuries associated with such structures, such assplinters and injuries sustained in falls onto such structures. Themeans should preferably be easy to install and aesthetically pleasing.

Prior art wooden beam protective systems are concerned with prolongingthe useful life of the wooden beams. For example, some systems utilizinga resilient pad or “sock” of some sort, perhaps having water-removingcapability, onto or into which a railroad tie is to be placed, prolongthe operational life of the railroad tie in railroad environments. Suchsystems, however, do nothing to address the falling or splinteringhazard that the exposed sections of wooden beams present to people,particularly children.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for minimizingthe number of injuries attributable to falling onto or splintering frompressure-treated wooden beam members, such as landscape ties or timbersused in play areas and landscape projects, through the use of aresilient cover. The words “ties”, “timbers” and “beams” are usedinterchangeably throughout the description to mean wooden, preferablypressure-treated, structural members.

A wooden member cover in accordance with the present invention ispreferably comprised of a moldable or extrudeable waterproof material inthe form of a channel having a top wall and two opposing side walls. Thecombination of channel thickness and composition provides an impactresistance suitable to prevent injuries when one falls upon it. Theinner dimensions of the channel are such that the channel fits tightlyover the top and sides of a construction beam or timber. The cover maybe formed as a single piece, or alternatively assembled from separatepieces.

The material employed is preferably a safety-tested rubber. The materialmay be provided in any number of aesthetically pleasing colors. Theexterior surface of the cover is preferably tactile and non-slip, andmay include deformations such as dimples or ridges, or even a diamondplate surface to this end. The material should be capable of receivingsecuring nails or screws easily, without disturbing the water-tightquality of the cover.

Many play areas are defined by configurations of interconnected and/orabutting landscape ties or timbers (sometimes referred to as “railroadties”), or smaller pressure-treated wooden beams. In order to providecoverage on configurations having angular bends or corners, it may benecessary to cut or miter portions of the covers to provide asubstantially seamless fit to additional covers. Some covers furthercomprise at least one end wall spanning the two opposing side walls, sothat all exposed sides of stand-alone wooden beams may be covered.

Some configurations have landscape ties stacked upon each other, as in aretaining wall. In some of these configurations, the lowest tie may bepartially or wholly submerged beneath the ground for support. Thepresent invention provides embodiments of the cover wherein at least oneof the opposing side walls has a height equal to the height of thestacked ties. In those embodiments wherein the lower tie is submerged, aportion of the cover is similarly submerged. Some configurations may nothave a uniform stacked-tie wall height. For example, a play area wallmay be two ties high in one portion, and then gradually (e.g., at 45°)or abruptly slopes down to a one-tie height. The present inventionprovides a cover that similarly has a non-uniform height to accommodatesuch configurations.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a cover thatincludes an interleaving or mating feature, such as, for example, adowel-type or tongue-and-groove joint for substantially seamlesslyconnecting two channels.

In another embodiment, at least one of the opposing side walls has alower edge that is not flat or parallel to the ground or other surfaceupon which the wooden beam rests. The lower edge, flat or not, can aidin securing the cover by penetrating the ground to a shallow depth. Thelower portion of an opposing side wall may include a lip that eitherrests upon the ground or buried beneath it, and upon which a securingmaterial (e.g., pea stone, dirt, etc.) may be placed.

The present invention also provides a method of covering newpressure-treated wooden beam configurations and/or retrofitting existingones so as to reduced injuries and eliminate splintering. The channelsare dimensioned so as to fit snugly over the wooden beam(s). They may befastened by any number of methods. In one approach, an adhesive such asLiquid Nails™ (www.liquidnails.com) may be applied to an inner surfaceof the walls prior to fitting the channel over a landscape timber. Othermethods of fastening the cover to the timber may also be used, such as,for example, nailing or screwing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The advantages of the present invention will be apparent in thefollowing detailed description of the illustrative embodiments thereof,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an end view of a cover in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an end view of an embodiment of a coverhaving an enclosed end wall;

FIGS. 3A, 3B are illustrations of external surfaces of a top wall of acover having features providing a non-slip surface;

FIG. 4 is an end-view illustration of a cover having dimensions suitableto cover stacked landscape ties, and further illustrating an alternativelower edge design;

FIGS. 5A-E are end-view illustrations of lower edges of side walls inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A, 6B are end-view and side-view illustrations of a cover thathas a non-uniform height;

FIGS. 7A, 7B are top-view illustrations of covers cut or mitered tocover a corner of a wooden beam configuration;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of two covers having mated interleavingfeatures enabling seamless connection between said covers with properalignment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the detailed description that follows, landscape timbers are used asexamples of the pressure-treated (PT) wooden members in many of theembodiments. This is meant to be illustrative only, as any substantiallyrectangular beam may be suitable for use with the present invention.Additionally, the figures depict wooden beam resting on a substantiallyflat surface such as the ground, but in some embodiments the timbers,particularly in stacked configurations, are partially or whollysubmerged beneath the ground. Though not illustrated, the presentinvention is also suitable for use in structures such as boat docks,wherein the wooden beams may be, for example 2″×6″ PT boards that aresupported by joist below the boards.

A first embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. A, whichpresents a cross-sectional view (not drawn to scale) of a cover 2 fitsecurely over a landscape tie 4. Cover 2 is channel-shaped tosubstantially cover at least three sides 6 of the landscape tie 4. Thecover includes two opposing side walls 8 spanned by a top wall 10. Notethat the cover 2 includes rounded corners 12 to increase safety.

Cover 2 is comprised of a resilient, waterproof material, such asnatural rubber or other elastomeric polymer. The cover has innerdimensions approximating those of the wooden beam it is covering. Forexample, a typical landscape tie has a height H and width W of about 5⅞″and a length L of about 8-10′, whereas “2×6” beams have heights H ofapproximately 5½″ and widths W of approximately 1⅞″. In FIG. A, top wall10 has a thickness Tt appearing equal to thickness Ts of the opposingside walls 8. This is not necessarily the case in all channelembodiments. The thickness of the material, and the material'sresiliency will determine the ability of the cover to provide cushioningwhen impacted. The impact resistance required will be a function ofseveral factors, including the likelihood of a fall onto the tie 4 froma low height or a higher one. Determination of whether an appropriateselection of material and dimensions has been made may be performedusing CPSC recommendations found in its “Guidelines For PublicPlayground Equipment”, which suggests use of the American Society forTesting and Materials (hereinafter ASTM) F-355 test methodology forevaluating the shock attenuating properties of playground and athleticsurfacing systems.

The cover 2 may be manufactured by any means, such as molding orextruding, suitable for the particular resilient material selected.Additional processing, such as painting or roughening of the surfaces ofthe channel may also be performed. The cover 2 may be formed of a singlepiece, or alternatively multiple pieces to be fit together (examples offitting mechanisms are described below). Some manipulation of the cover,as described below, may be performed on-site in order to adapt the coverto the specific wooden beam configuration encountered. The internalsurface of the cover 2 is preferably smooth, but may additionally havefeatures (e.g., short deformations or projections of varying shapes)that increase the coefficient of friction between said internal surfaceand the sides 6 of the wooden beam. A tight fit between the cover andwooden beam will prevent water from entering the interface between thecover and the beam, thereby having a side effect of increasing theuseful life of increasing the useful life of the beam. The cover may befastened to the cover by a number of means, including adhesives, nails,screws and so on, but the fastening method is preferably one thatpreserves the waterproofing qualities of the cover and prevents leachingof chemicals, such as arsenic, from pressure-treated wood.

Many variations in both the dimensions and features of the cover 2 arepossible and are within the scope of the present invention.

In some play areas and landscape projects, wooden beams used to defineboundaries of such areas occasionally terminate with exposed ends. Withreference to FIG. 2, one embodiment of the cover 2 includes an end wall14 spanning between the opposing side walls 8. A landscape tie 4 isdepicted as totally enclosed by the end wall 14. Design considerationssimilar to those discussed above are equally applicable to theconstruction of the end wall 14.

With reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the external surface of the cover 2preferably has a texture that prevents slipping. The non-slipcharacteristic may occur naturally and/or through the addition offeatures such as dimples 16 or ridges 18.

With reference to FIG. 4, the landscape tie 4 in some configurations maybe stacked upon a second railroad tie 20. To accommodate theseconfigurations, cover 2 may have a height H that is greater than theheight of the stacked wooden beams. Note that the opposing side walls 8may, but do not necessarily, both extend to the ground or other surface22 upon which the stacked beams rest or in which they are submerged. Inaddition, one of the side walls has a lower edge 24 that is flat andparallel to the ground or other surface. Both side walls could have sucha flat lower edge, or one or both could alternatively have a lower edge26 that has a segment not parallel to the ground or other surface 22.

Additional lower edge designs are depicted in FIGS. 5A through 5E. Anadvantage of having a lower edge including at least part of a wedge 28is that the side wall 8 may be more easily inserted into the ground orother surface 22 for more secure positioning. FIG. 5E illustrates a lip30 present at the base of some side walls 8 in accordance with thepresent invention. The lip 30 is useful in that some material 32, suchas pea stone or dirt, may be placed on top of lip 30 to further securethe position of the side wall 8. The lip 30 is illustrated as beingpositioned below ground level in a trench or hole, with the material 32being used to back-fill the trench or hole, but alternatively the lip 30could rest upon surface 22.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are illustrations representing corner and side views ofa cover 2 that is suitable for covering a wooden beam configurationcomprised of two landscape ties 34,36. The cover includes a slopingsection 38 that traverses the distance between the portion of the covercovering only one tie (and having height H1) and the portion coveringtwo ties (and having height H2.) The illustrations show only a portionof the cover 2 near the transition region and are not drawn to scale.The sloping section 38 may include a more gradual or steep slope, but a45° angle is typical.

At the work site where the wooden beam configuration is to be retrofit,covers will need to be manipulated to conform to the arrangement ofbeams. The cover(s) are fastened to the wooden beams via any number ofmethods that maintain the waterproof characteristic of the cover,including applying an adhesive to the cover before fitting it atop thewooden beams, and/or nailing or screwing the cover to the beams. Asshown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, corners 40 may be covered by cutting and/ormitering one or more of the covers 2 to provide a near seamlessinterface 42.

Where multiple covers are required to cover a long section of a timberconfiguration, covers such as those depicted in FIG. 8 may be employed.In this embodiment, a first cover 44 has one or more interleavingportions, such as male pins 46 that are mated to a corresponding numberof recesses 48 on a second cover 50. Other mated surfaces providing asubstantially seamless connection will be readily apparent to artisans.The interleaving portions allow proper alignment between cover segments.

Although the invention has been described with respect to variousembodiments, it should be realized this invention is also capable of awide variety of further and other embodiments. The true scope of thepresent invention is embodied in the claims that follow.

1. A method of preventing injury by retrofitting a play area orlandscape project defined by at least one rectangular pressure-treatedwooden member, comprising the steps of: fitting a channel comprised of aresilient material having a top wall, two opposing side walls, a liplocated at the bottom of at least one of the opposing side wallsproviding a flange substantially perpendicular to the at least one ofthe two opposing side walls, and a thickness sufficient to provideimpact resistance, snugly over at three sides of at least onerectangular pressure-treated wooden member defining a play area orlandscape project; forming a trench within the ground adjacent and atsubstantially the depth in the ground as the at least one rectangularpressure treated member; inserting a lower edge of at least one of theopposing side walls into the trench below the ground upon which the atleast one rectangular pressure treated member rests; covering the liplocated at the bottom of at least one of the opposing side walls with atleast dirt in order to secure the position of the at least onerectangular pressure treated member; and fastening the channel to the atleast one rectangular pressure-treated rectangular wooden member.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the fastening step comprises: gluing thechannel to the rectangular pressure treated member.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the fastening step comprises: nailing the channel tothe rectangular pressure treated member.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the fastening step comprises: screwing the channel to therectangular pressure treated member.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of mitering a section of the channel so as tosubstantially seamlessly abut another channel at an angle.
 6. The methodof claim 1, further comprising the step of interleaving a portion of thechannel with a mated portion of another channel so as to create aseamless connection.